Neverending
by Killer Moth
Summary: Titans Together coda. Beast Boy confronts the one person left unsatisfied over the Brain's defeat. A tribute for BB creator Arnold Drake.


Disclaimer: I don't own the characters you read before you. All rights belong to Warner Brothers and all that.

Author's Note: Taking a departure from my current works as I found out the creator of the Doom Patrol, Arnold Drake, recently passed away on March 12th, 2007. He was 83. So, in turn, I'll do one of my usual banter pieces.

Since I already declared it in the "Law and Order" fandom, I'll declare it here as well: I'm playing with narrative formats until I can find something that we're all comfortable with.

Beta: Still looking.

Timeline: Post "Things Change".

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With a few taps of computer keys, Robin's new security system was online. It was the by-product of having the rogue's gallery collectedly frozen within the Brotherhood of Evil's Parisian base. Robin predicted the likelihood of, say, Slade or Brother Blood storming in and cherry picking an unbeatable armada.

Observing the monitors, he detected a figure unexpectedly hovering towards the Brain's icy prison. As the cameras zoomed in, his eyes flashed at the intruder's identity.

"I better tell Beast Boy."

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The T-Ship soared past the Eiffel Tower, the City of Lights glittering below.

"I knew he had a thing for the Brain, but I didn't think he'd go up and do this," Beast Boy mused while Robin piloted the transport.

"It's been a long time since you've seen him last, Beast Boy; things change."

"I know that, dude, but it doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Obsession is a trait I can understand."

"Well, yeah, I could draw the same thing between you and Slade, but I won't."

Robin donned an unperceivable grin. "I hope he won't do anything out-of-hand, although, if he's only after the Brain, I'm not as worried. There isn't much the Brain can do in his current state, frozen or not."

The changeling slumped against his seat. "He isn't crazy, Robin. Well, 9/10ths of the time, he isn't, anyway."

"Alright, but you call me if something goes wrong. Against someone dangerous like the Brain, I don't want to deal with any conflicting loyalties."

"I'm a Titan now, so you don't have to worry. By the way, thanks for taking me. I can turn into any animal, but even I can't fly across an ocean — doesn't seem right, dude. And, oh, yeah, thanks for not bringing everyone else along. I don't think I can do this with everyone crowding me."

"Some things can only be dealt with by yourself. I understand that, too." The T-Ship swooped in and landed on an empty street, cockpits opening.

"It's late, man; can't you be deep later?"

"Just go." Beast Boy morphed into a dog and bolted toward a dingy avenue.

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A half hour later, Beast Boy investigated the devastated Brotherhood base. Recollections were for another time as he reached his destination: the control room. He focused on the trespasser gawking at the Brain's icicled cocoon: an in-shape man dressed in his uniform, sporting a violet cyclical helmet.

"Mento, what are you doing here?"

"Beast Boy, how did you know I'd be here?"

"We have a security system set up…, sir. Robin installed it, just in case something like this was going to happen. Now, Mento, it's waaaay past my bedtime, so can we please skip the usual?"

"Skip what?"

"The usual broody thing you do when it comes to the Brain."

Mento's lips curled. "I do not have a 'broody thing' with the Brain."

"Yeah, right and I'm not green. And you're doing the usual: bury your feelings in the sand like an ostrich. Meanwhile, everyone has to bend over backwards trying to figure you out," the youth huffed.

He eyed the Brain. "You certainly have it all rehearsed."

"Yeah, well, Robin can be like that, too. So, you're going to spell it all out or…?"

"Hm. You know, Rita reminds me a lot of you: the same concerns, the same worries. If I could draw the parallel, it would be frightening."

Beast Boy snorted. "Nice to know I'm not missed much."

"I didn't say that."

"Then what is it? Can't you ever say what you mean for once?"

"Aren't you sounding annoyed?"

"How would you like being in a place that has all your worst enemies on display like frozen food, ready to be thawed out at any minute? And that's on top of dealing with a blockheaded father figure — you wouldn't be too sunny, either." The shapeshifter's emerald coloring was practically red.

"Aren't you sound like a child?"

"No, I'm a teenager."

"It's all the same to me, Beast Boy."

"Could you stop looking at him and look at me?" He budged his way in front of the twisted sculpture, glaring at Mento. "He's not coming back; we've won."

The human furrowed his brow. "It's not the same thing."

"Why not?"

"Because I wasn't the one to beat him," he sighed.

Beast Boy's jaw drooped. "What?"

"You don't understand."

"Then make me understand."

Mento sauntered to the stationary forms of General Immortus and Madame Rouge. "It's different, Beast Boy. When you've fought the enemy for as long as I have, there is an unspeakable code: the fighting can't end until one takes down the other, or both. So, when I heard that the Brain was defeated in Paris, I had to see it for myself."

"That's why you're here."

"Yes. We were busy fighting Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man, and by the time the dust settled, the Brain's defeat was on all the wires."

"Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man? Geez, no wonder you were busy. I guess I could have called you before, but things were so crazy, and I didn't know what to do. I just went with what you had taught me."

The Doom Patrol leader beamed faintly. "You don't have to say that."

"No, you were a good teacher. Because of that, I took down the Brain. I had wished you were there with me, though."

"It's alright. Of all the people I'd want to stop the Brain, you're not a bad choice at all."

"Don't get mushy on me, Mento."

"I wouldn't worry about that."

"Oh, I'm not," Beast Boy tittered irreverently.

Mento returned to his original position. "All of his deathtraps I've faced, this is how it ends: not with a bang, but with a whimper."

"Yeah, you going to be okay?"

"I will be."

"Do you want me to stay? We could swap stories about the Brain or something."

He was silent for a moment. "I don't suppose it would hurt anything. Everyone else is on another mission, anyway."

"I should tell Robin since he brought me here." Beast Boy wielded his Communicator.

"You said you've experienced this before with Robin?"

"Yeah, with a guy named Slade. It's over, but sometimes, the guy still gets under Robin's skin…and mine."

"I'd like to hear about that."

The Titan smiled a bit. "I got all night."

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